


Reinforcements

by honestgrins



Series: To Rely on the Kindness of Strangers [52]
Category: The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: F/M, and i love her and want her in all of my fics now, matt and lexi have a little girl named emma
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-25
Updated: 2016-09-25
Packaged: 2018-08-17 04:38:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,229
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8130683
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/honestgrins/pseuds/honestgrins
Summary: Prompt from themikaelsoncupcake: Here’s a little Klaroline prompt for you :D Well it’s Caroline offers to baby sit Matt and Lexi’s 6 year old daughter but as it turns out she has no idea how to deal with kids so she asks her neighbor klaus to help out seeing as he use to look after Rebekah, Kol and Henrik a lot. Love your writing by the way :D





	

"I'm bored."

Eyes flitting up in a panic, Caroline tried not to show her apprehension. The six-year-old just stared at her, expectant. "Um, what would you like to do, Emma?"

Emma just shrugged. _Very helpful_ , Caroline wanted to mutter, but she held her tongue. Kids needed a good example, right?

Sighing, Caroline ran a hand through her curls. Kids had never been her forte, but Matt and Lexi deserved a date night, and she thought keeping the school-aged Emma entertained for the night would be super easy. Making cupcakes together had gone pretty well, but they were still too warm to decorate. Caroline had zero board games, and none of the recorded shows and movies she had on her DVR seemed to interest Emma.

She was out of ideas.

The little girl was completely adorable, but Caroline was still getting to know her. Despite being a childhood friend, Matt had just moved his family up to New York City where Caroline was the only person he knew. Lexi got a kickass job doing PR for some huge company, and Matt was able to transfer into the NYPD with his experience working with Caroline's mom in the sheriff's department. The little person they brought with them, however, was an entirely new experience for Caroline.

As a fashion designer, Caroline spent her days working in the atelier with other associates and models. Even with all the people that lived in New York, her world was still very small and only populated by adults. The child staring at her made Caroline feel like she was failing an innate test of maternal instinct.

Unfortunately, she did have one option she had been avoiding like the plague. "Here," she said, handing Emma her personal iPad. "There should be a few games on there, and I'll be right back." Steeling herself, Caroline strode out of her apartment to knock on her neighbor's door.

"Well, hello Caroline." Klaus answered the door, happily crossing his arms at her overwrought expression. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

Swallowing her pride, she fell back on the information gleaned from their one, disastrous date when she first moved into the building. "You used to watch your younger siblings all the time, right?" she asked, nervously wringing her hands as she glanced back to her apartment. "I have a six-year-old who thinks I'm the most boring babysitter in the world."

"I can't believe that, love," he flirted. She barely refrained from rolling her eyes, but Caroline was too smart to look down her nose when asking for a favor. "Children can be self-sufficient with the right tools."

"Yes, but I promised Lexi I wouldn't just sit her in front of the TV or let her have more than half an hour of iPad time," Caroline hastily explained. "I have no toys, games, or ideas. Please, help."

Lightly stroking his lip, Klaus had a mischievous look about him. The last time Caroline saw that, she ended up on the world's worst date with the asshole in front of her. "You know what, never mind-"

"No, Caroline," he said, reaching out to grab her wrist. "I might have an idea, if you don't mind my company."

She looked up at him, carefully checking for anything but the earnest expression on his face. Klaus had always been persistent in trying to get into her pants; at least this time, he seemed to genuinely want to help. "Fine," she decided, nodding back to her place. "Let's go."

"Just a minute, love," he said before ducking into his apartment. When he reappeared, he held a sketchbook and colored pencils, shyly smiling up at her. "A coloring book is easy enough to make."

Caroline stared as he made his way to her door, wondering at the soft look on his face. She refused to let herself dwell on it, having wasted too much time on Klaus Mikaelson years earlier. Still, it was hard to ignore as he patiently waited for her to let him in.

"Emma," she called, barely brushing against him as she opened the door. "I have a friend I'd like you to meet. This is Klaus."

"Hi, Klaus," Emma greeted warily, looking at the colored pencils with interest. "Do you like to color?"

"I do," he answered, amiably sitting in the armchair to face her position on the couch. "However, Caroline thought you might like a special coloring book. You can tell me what to draw, then I'll give it to you to color. How does that sound?"

Bouncing, Emma's whole face lit up. "You can draw anything? I want a unicorn!"

Klaus smiled brightly, and Caroline's breath actually caught in her throat. She never denied he was a handsome man, but the sight was just so damn cute that she needed to distract herself. "I'm going to get started on dinner," she said with a cough, abruptly darting to the kitchen to hide from his curious gaze.

As disastrous as their date had been, even Caroline could admit Klaus had worked hard to apologize and get back in her good graces in the years since. He was cocky and gross, fresh off a promotion at his swanky law firm and determined to prove he was God's gift to women. While Caroline had firmly put him in his place, even throwing her drink in his face when he implied she would be pining for him eventually, there were tiny glimpses of the man he could be.

The sweet artist who introduced himself with paint all over his arms, for instance. It was the same man entertaining the six-year-old in the next room, dutifully noting her exact specifications for what a unicorn should look like. She fought a smile, knowing he could probably sense her softening anti-Klaus stance.

He was annoyingly perceptive like that.

But when it came time to eat the mushy pasta she finally managed to make, it was actually Emma that encouraged him to stick around. "Have dinner with us," she all but begged, holding her finished unicorn drawing (plus a dinosaur and the tea party from "Alice in Wonderland") as proof that he earned a meal. "Please?"

For once, Klaus seemed deferential to Caroline. "I don't think that's a good idea," he explained carefully to the little girl.

"No," Caroline said, surprising them both. "Please, join us."

Klaus didn't dare to leave until Emma was engrossed in watching _Tangled_ , with Caroline following him to the door. "Thank you," she offered sincerely. "I'm really glad you're good with kids."

He smirked, but didn't tease her like she expected. "Emma adores you, sweetheart, even if you can't see it," he pointed out. Something about the way he said it, however, made Caroline think the comment wasn't entirely about Emma.

"Yeah," she said, though it came out as a breathy question with his intense gaze, mere inches from her in the doorway.

Leaning forward, Klaus placed a small, lingering kiss on her cheek. "You're a captivating woman, Caroline Forbes," he whispered before pulling away with a wink. "Goodnight, love."

"Goodnight," she answered softly.

Maybe he had finally earned that second chance.

"Caroline," Emma called from the couch. "You're missing the movie!"

Smiling, Caroline locked up the apartment so she could join Emma in the living room. With the little girl cuddled into her side, she figured babysitting wasn't as bad as she thought.


End file.
